Chat rooms or other applications are known for use on the Internet and allow online conversations between two users. Some of the best known examples of these applications include AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) and ICQ from America Online Corp. and MSN Messenger from Microsoft Corp. These and similar online chat applications allow two or more users to communicate or converse in real-time (i.e., nearly simultaneously) while each user is logged on to the Internet through a service provider. Both applications use either commonly known browser applications or other dedicated windowing programs to facilitate the online communication between the two users.
An example of a typical chat window is shown in FIG. 1A. Typically, a window 10 is provided that captures the text communications taking place between both users. Text is easily entered in the chat room application in a manner that is similar to an ordinary e-mail communication. The window 10 usually displays the last “x” number of interactions between both users. As is also common in such chat room applications, a window 12 is provided that may identify a particular user's commonly used contacts and/or a user's contacts that are currently online at their computers and available for a real-time communication. Other windows may also be provided for additional features and functions.
A recent development in the known chat room application area is an application allowing for more than two users to communicate in a chat-room fashion. An example of a group chat room application is shown in FIG. 1B. Like the typical chat room application interface shown in FIG. 1A, a dialog window 20 is provided in FIG. 1B. Also like the interface for the typical two-person chat room application, dialog window 20 captures and displays the previous “y” lines of communication between the various users in this group chat room environment.
Another common technique or application existing today on the Internet is the rating function. Rating functions can be inserted and used in multiple different Internet environments, and are commonly employed to solicit and obtain feedback regarding a particular topic or article. One example of a commonly used rating technique is shown in FIG. 1C. As shown in FIG. 1C, topics 30 such as songs, books, or other items are displayed for user access. Access may take on a number of different forms including purchase, reading, listening, review, etc. Embedded within the link identified for the item or topic 30 is a program allowing the user to rate the highlighted item. A rating score 32 is commonly provided alongside the item to indicate users' feedback (either approval or criticism) regarding the topic 30. As is also common, an average rating box 34 may be presented in the user interface. The average rating box 34 typically includes a non-weighted review of all of the other ratings 32 for the particular topics 30 appearing in the interface. In the particular example shown in FIG. 1C, an average rating 34 is provided for the singer “Britney Spears” that is a summation of 103 ratings provided for her songs.
The term “emoticons” has generally been used to describe small icons that are commonly included in e-mail or chat room communications. An example of a common emoticon is the “smiley face” emoticon 40 shown in FIG. 1D. Another common emoticon is a “frown face” emoticon 42. Other such images, whether a still image, or a moving or animated image, are also commonly known and used in electronic communications and messaging. Examples of such communications media include, but are not limited to, e-mail communications, chat room communications, and wireless communication (i.e., text messaging) to name but a few.
It is further known that users of such applications can set the topic of any conversation.
What is lacking is a mechanism that combines a user's desire to rate or provide feedback regarding an item or topic in an interactive real-time communication or conversation. Prior systems and methods for detecting and measuring a user's feedback or rating of a particular topic in a real-time, interactive environment are not known in the art.